Read Et Al 2009 PDF

Globalization and Health
BioMed Central
Open Access
Research
Local suffering and the global discourse of mental health and human
rights: An ethnographic study of responses to mental illness in rural
Ghana
Ursula M Read1, Edward Adiibokah*2 and Solomon Nyame2
Address: 1Department of Anthropology, University College London, UK and 2Kintampo Health Research Centre, Kintampo, Brong Ahafo, Ghana
Email: Ursula M Read - u.read@ucl.ac.uk; Edward Adiibokah* - adiiboka@yahoo.com; Solomon Nyame - meronzi12345@yahoo.com
* Corresponding author
Published: 14 October 2009

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13
doi:10.1186/1744-8603-5-13
Received: 28 May 2009

Accepted: 14 October 2009
This article is available from: http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/5/1/13

2009 Read et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: The Global Movement for Mental Health has brought renewed attention to the
neglect of people with mental illness within health policy worldwide. The maltreatment of the
mentally ill in many low-income countries is widely reported within psychiatric hospitals, informal
healing centres, and family homes. International agencies have called for the development of
legislation and policy to address these abuses. However such initiatives exemplify a top-down
approach to promoting human rights which historically has had limited impact at the level of those
living with mental illness and their families.
Methods: This research forms part of a longitudinal anthropological study of people with severe
mental illness in rural Ghana. Visits were made to over 40 households with a family member with
mental illness, as well as churches, shrines, hospitals and clinics. Ethnographic methods included
observation, conversation, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with people
with mental illness, carers, healers, health workers and community members.
Results: Chaining and beating of the mentally ill was found to be commonplace in homes and
treatment centres in the communities studied, as well as with-holding of food ('fasting'). However
responses to mental illness were embedded within spiritual and moral perspectives and such
treatment provoked little sanction at the local level. Families struggled to provide care for severely
mentally ill relatives with very little support from formal health services. Psychiatric services were
difficult to access, particularly in rural communities, and also seen to have limitations in their
effectiveness. Traditional and faith healers remained highly popular despite the routine
maltreatment of the mentally ill in their facilities.
Conclusion: Efforts to promote the human rights of those with mental illness must engage with
the experiences of mental illness within communities affected in order to grasp how these may
underpin the use of practices such as mechanical restraint. Interventions which operate at the local
level with those living with mental illness within rural communities, as well as family members and
healers, may have greater potential to effect change in the treatment of the mentally ill than
legislation or investment in services alone.
Page 1 of 16
(page number not for citation purposes)
Background
The contribution of mental disorders to the burden of
chronic disease has been re-affirmed in the latest update
to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. This identifies neuropsychiatric conditions including depression,
psychoses and alcohol use disorders, as the leading causes
of disability worldwide, representing a third of all years of
healthy life lost to disability among adults [1]. According
to this study, the burden of disability is highest in African
countries, presumably due to the impact of poverty and
low levels of treatment and rehabilitation for chronic diseases. Within sub-Saharan Africa the majority of those
with mental disorders receive no treatment from mental
health services. In a study in Nigeria, for example, only
9% of 1,682 people diagnosed with anxiety, mood or substance use disorder had received any treatment, and even
this treatment was judged to be inadequate [2]. Mental
health care is underfunded across the continent compared
to other health concerns. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), 70% of African countries spend
less than 1% of their health budgets on mental health [3].
Even then the majority of government funding for mental
health is consumed in maintaining large psychiatric institutions, with very little allocated for the treatment and
prevention of mental disorders in the community. In
common with general health care and other public services, psychiatric services tend to be concentrated within
the urban centres of most countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
This means that the poorest members of these countries
who live in rural areas far from the capitals and major cities face the greatest challenges in accessing mental health
care.
In response to these deficits in mental healthcare, 2008
witnessed the launch of The Global Movement for Mental
Health http://www.globalmentalhealth.org. The movement has three key objectives: the scaling up of mental
health services, protecting human rights, and promoting
research in low- and middle-income countries. This
movement is the latest development in a global push for
improved mental health care which began in 2001 with
the World Health Report on mental health [4]. It received
renewed impetus in 2007 with the publication of the Lancet series on mental health which highlighted the paucity
of attention to mental health in the global public health
forum culminating in a 'call for action' [5]. This call,
which forms the foundation of the Global Movement for
Mental Health, suggests that Government ministries
should 'identify and scale up a priority package of service
interventions or components that can form the backbone
of a national mental health system that provides effective
interventions and human-rights protection' [5]. Recommended strategies are in line with long-standing recommendations for the delivery of mental health care which
emphasize the need for decentralisation, community-
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/5/1/13
based mental health care, and the integration of mental

health within primary care. The movement also suggests
that governments of low- and middle-income countries
should establish a national body to monitor and protect
the human rights of people with mental disorders, and
'promote adoption and implementation of national mental health legislation in accordance with international
human-rights instruments' [5]. However this focus on
state interventions to promote human rights faces additional challenges in countries with emerging economies,
and weak systems of governance and civil participation.
Many governments of sub-Saharan Africa for example,
have historically shown little respect for the human rights
of their populations, whether mentally ill or otherwise.
This paper considers the challenges facing the protection
of the human rights of people with mental illness drawing
on the results of ethnographic research in Kintampo, a
rural community in Ghana, West Africa.
Mental health and human rights
Reports by NGOs and the media regarding the widespread
maltreatment of the mentally in low-income countries of
sub-Saharan Africa, including graphic images of people in
chains, have provoked shock and outrage amongst many
observers, and led to urgent calls for reform. It is striking
that such appeals have generally come not from the communities affected, but from concerned visitors and experts
from the international scene - NGOs, WHO and internationally prominent psychiatrists. These concerns are far
from new. In 1991 the UN adopted the 'Principles for the
Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and for the
Improvement for Mental Health Care' (commonly known
as the MI Principles) [6]. In response to the lack of
progress in meeting the minimum standards enshrined in
these principles, the Institute of Psychiatry in the UK
launched 'Principles to Respect', an 'Initiative on Mental
Health and Human Rights' which aimed to promote the
MI principles within psychiatric facilities worldwide [7].
Most recently the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (including within this definition
those with 'mental impairments') was passed in 2006,
although it remains to be ratified by many countries [8].
All these initiatives draw on the principles of human

rights to prohibit the unlawful deprivation of liberty and
the use of 'cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment'. Countries are supported by international agencies such as WHO to develop mental health legislation
and policy as a step to improved services and the outlawing of human rights abuses [9]. However, despite the best
intentions of these initiatives, such 'top-down'
approaches are in danger of failing to bring about change
in the communities most affected, as evidenced by the
persistence of human rights abuses in states which have
been signatory to international treaties and conventions,
Page 2 of 16
as well as reproducing human rights rhetoric within their

national constitutions and legislation. As observed elsewhere, a proliferation of human rights documents has not
correlated with a decrease in human rights abuses [10].
The stark fact remains that in spite of decades of international human rights initiatives, throughout many countries of sub-Saharan Africa the chaining and other
maltreatment of the mentally ill remains routine.
It is perhaps unsurprising that human rights abuses are
often linked to poor standards of mental health care in
low-income countries and the need for methods of
restraint in the absence of easily available neuroleptics.
Data produced by WHO such as the Mental Health Atlas
[3], in which the scarcity of psychiatric resources such as
hospital beds, psychiatrists and mental health spending in
sub-Saharan Africa is all too clear, would seem to support
this conclusion. However such data fails to enumerate the
contributions of family members and religious healers, as
well as other informal resources, which form the backbone of care for the mentally ill in many countries of subSaharan Africa. In addition, attitudes to the care of those
with mental illness seem to vary even between countries
with similar levels of economic development. Whilst
chaining of the mentally ill is commonplace in countries
of sub-Saharan Africa, in Peru this does not occur, even in
remote rural communities where psychiatric services are
scarce (David Orr, University College London, personal
communication). This suggests that responses to the mental illness of a family member are influenced by social
norms regarding the control of mental illness which are in
turn informed by historical, cultural and symbolic practices. Such social norms become the accepted, even
expected, practices in response to mental illness, and
hence may not evoke widespread protest, particularly at
the community level.
This paper draws on anthropological research with people
with mental illness, their families and healing practitioners within rural communities in Ghana, to gain an understanding of how practices such as the chaining and
beating of those with mental illness are embedded within
sociocultural meanings and responses evoked by madness
or mental illness. An ethnographic approach involving
long-term research within the field permits one to trace
the trajectory of family responses to mental illness in
which chaining often forms part of a long period of helpseeking. This research enabled encounters with families
before, during and after the use of chains, and was thus
able to track changes in family responses over time.
Mental health policy and service delivery in Ghana
Like many countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana's psychiatric services have their origins in the colonial period
with the establishment of an asylum in the capital, Accra.
This was largely custodial rather than therapeutic in func-
tion and served to detain those with mental illness who

had increasingly come to the notice of the colonial
authorities, particularly in urban areas [11]. Two further
psychiatric hospitals were established following independence offering inpatient and outpatient treatment for
mental disorders. All three hospitals are located in the
south of the country and from their inception have suffered from overcrowding and understaffing leading to
poor quality of care. Despite several initiatives to improve
mental health services, including the training of community psychiatric nurses and the opening of regional psychiatric units, the vision of a comprehensive community
mental health system held by the first African psychiatrist
in the country, E.M. Forster [12], has yet to be fulfilled.
Political apathy towards mental health, combined with
widespread stigma, hamper the progress of mental health
care in the country. Traditional healers, and increasingly
pastors of the Pentecostal churches, continue to deal with
the greatest proportion of those with mental disorders.
Whilst these often address the spiritual concerns of Ghanaians who use their services, there are reports of maltreatment and human rights abuse including chaining,
enforced fasting, and beatings [13].
However there are some signs of a renewed impetus for
mental health care within Ghana. A new mental health
bill has been highly praised for its focus on human rights
and community-based services [14]. The current health
sector five year Programme of Work states a commitment
to promoting mental health [15]. In addition to such policy initiatives, there are increasing numbers of NGOs
working in mental health, and a large research programme consortium, the Mental Health and Poverty
Project (MHaPP) is conducting research on mental health
and poverty within four African countries including
Ghana [16]. This year also saw the relaunch of the Ghana
Mental Health Association, drawing together interested
parties in supporting mental health in the country. In recognition of the burden of mental disorders in Ghana and
the relative paucity of financial and human resources, as
well as its readiness for reform, Ghana is one of the countries which has been identified by the WHO initiative
Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) to received
intensified support to scale up treatment for mental, neurological and substance use disorders [17]. As a relatively
stable democracy with a history of psychiatric innovation
and a growing advocacy movement for mental health
within both the health care sector and civil society, Ghana
is facing a unique opportunity to pioneer improved mental health care in the West African region.
Methods
Fieldwork setting
The study centres around a rural town, Kintampo, in
Brong Ahafo, in the central belt of Ghana. Kintampo
forms a transit zone between north and south, and is
Page 3 of 16
home to many migrant communities now settled in the

town. Kintampo also marks the boundary between two
administrative districts, North and South Kintampo. The
total population of these two districts is about 190,000,
the majority of which live in rural areas. Some of these
rural communities are strung along the main north-south
road, many others are located at some distance along
unpaved feeder roads. Farming is the major occupation
for about seventy per cent of the population in the districts. The most widely spoken language in the district is
Twi, which is spoken by the Akan, the largest ethnic group
in the region as well as in Ghana as a whole, and adopted
by many others as a lingua franca. Other widely used languages in the district include Hausa and English, which is
the official language for government bodies such as education and health services. Over 60% of the population
are Christian, nearly 30% Muslim, and around 8% follow
the traditional religion, though the use of traditional
shrines is more widespread than this figure would suggest.
There are three major sources of help for families in Kintampo North and South districts who have a relative with
mental illness, including biomedical healthcare, 'traditional healing' performed by fetish priests (Twi: akmfo),
and 'faith healing' from Christian pastors or Muslim mallams. Ghana Health Service is the main provider of biomedical care for mental illness, however treatment for
mental disorders seldom penetrates to the community
level. Until 2008 there were no mental health professionals throughout the two Kintampo districts. A Community
Psychiatric Nurse (CPN) has now been posted to Kintampo. In theory she provides a service to the town and
surrounding communities, but since she is provided with
no means of transport she is limited in her capacity to
conduct home visits on a regular basis, particularly to
more distant settlements. Treatment for mental illness at
the community level is largely through the provision of
psychotropic drugs which are available from the district
hospital at Kintampo and from the CPN. Clinics located
in rural communities (sub-districts) are not equipped to
treat mental illness. Inpatient and outpatient psychiatric
care is available in Sunyani, the regional capital, where
there is a psychiatric unit within the regional hospital.
However the three state psychiatric hospitals provide the
major source of inpatient treatment. These are all located
in the south of Ghana, a day's journey from Kintampo
(see figure 1).
By contrast, informal treatment providers are many and
varied, their numbers easily exceeding psychiatric services.
Most communities have an kmfo, a traditional healer or
fetish priest, who under the instruction of the abosom or
'small gods', treats mental illness through the use of
herbal medicines and ritual such as animal sacrifice. Also
popular as sources of healing for mental illness are 'prayer
camps' established by Christian pastors who provide healing through prayer, fasting and deliverance from evil spirits. One pastor in Kintampo town is well-known in the
area for his power in healing those who are mentally ill,
and hundreds if not thousands of pastors offer similar
services throughout the country. A shrine in a small rural
community in Kintampo South district is also famed for
healing madness and is visited by people from as far afield
as the Ashanti region and sometimes beyond. Treatment
at prayer camps and shrines often involves a lengthy stay
of several months; sometimes up to a year or even more.
Relatives are usually expected to stay with the patient at
the prayer camps and shrines to provide day-to-day care.
Most frequently this is the mother, but sometimes the
father, sister or another relative takes this role.
Research design
Despite longstanding calls for the contribution of anthropology to explore the influence of culture on the experience and outcome of mental illness [18-20], there are few
detailed ethnographic studies of people living with mental illness in low-income countries. Many studies provide
little detail about the socio-cultural world in which people live, and the ways in which people with mental illness
are treated by their families, friends or the general population [18,19,21,22]. This research draws on the methods
of transcultural psychiatry which views mental illness as a
function of 'the unique experience of being a member of
a particular society: a society with its own characteristic
web of economic constraints, social relations and beliefs'
[23]. Utilising anthropological methods including participant observation, conversation and semi-structured
interviews with people with mental illness, their families,
healers, health professionals and community members
within Kintampo town and the surrounding villages, the
study aimed to discover the particularities of responses to
severe mental illness as embedded within the experience
of living in a rural West African community.
Research subjects
Participants were recruited through purposive sampling at
shrines, churches, prayer camps and family homes. Initially the researchers identified one shrine and two prayer
camps within the Kintampo districts who frequently
treated people with mental illness. The shrine regularly
had 8-10 people with mental illness staying in the compound. However the two prayer camps were relatively
small without a frequent turnover of patients, so a larger
prayer camp was identified in Techiman, a market town
thirty minutes from Kintampo, where there were greater
numbers of people with mental illness. All of these healing centres took patients from across the country, though
predominantly from Brong Ahafo and Ashanti regions.
Permission was sought from the pastor or kmfo to
approach potential participants visiting the shrine/
Page 4 of 16
social functioning. The majority of those studied have

been ill for periods of at least 5 years, some for much
longer than this. Many traced the onset of their illness to
adolescence or early adulthood.
Kintampo
Sunyani
Kumasi
Greater Accra
Cape Coast
Figure
Map
by
participants
of Ghana
1
showing location of psychiatric facilities used
Map of Ghana showing location of psychiatric facilities used by participants.
church. Other participants were recruited from the database of an earlier epidemiological study of psychosis
http://www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/international/?project_id=54,
patients attending the CPN clinic, and through contacts in
the community (see Table 1).
The focus of the study is on those who in Twi would be
described as bdamfo, or a mad person. This behaviour is
identified by local informants with forms of 'wild' and
anti-social behaviour and is closest to what in psychiatric
terms would be labelled psychosis. Frequently described
behaviours include talking to oneself, talking in a disordered way (kasa basabasa), acting aggressively (gidigidi),
and dressing in dirty clothing. The study focuses on those
with more longstanding forms of mental illness which
involve severe disruption of perception, thought, and
Fieldwork
Anthropological fieldwork requires prolonged immersion
in the community under study and participation in everyday life, typically for a period of at least one year, in order
for the researcher to become familiar with local practices
and to minimise the reactivity of informants [24]. Fieldwork took place between October 2007 and December
2008 following a pilot study in June - July 2006. The principal researcher (UMR) lived within Kintampo during the
period of fieldwork, and spent time informally with people living in the Kintampo districts, observing practices
such child-rearing, food preparation, agricultural practices, social relationships and other daily routines. The
fieldwork assistant (SN) was trained in ethnographic
methods, including participant observation and semistructured interviewing. He accompanied the principal
researcher on visits to field sites, and provided assistance
with interpretation, conducting interviews and focus
groups, and arranging entry to the field. The assistant also
functioned as an 'expert informant' during participant
observation, to assist with the explanation of practices
observed, as well as with interpretation. The research consisted of three main approaches: detailed case studies of
people with mental illness, in-depth observation of treatment and healing practices for mental illness, and gathering contextual information relevant to mental illness (see
Appendix 1).
Alongside interviews to elicit verbal accounts, an important part of the research involved spending time with people with mental illness and their families observing their
everyday life and their integration and participation
within the community, including the attitudes of others
towards them. Regular visits were undertaken to the
homes of families who had a relative with mental illness,
to the shrine, and to the three churches treating people
with mental illness. Fieldnotes were written by the
researcher and the assistant to record observations and
conversations following each visit.
During the course of the research over 40 homes were visited in addition to the shrine and prayer camps, and a
total of 67 participants were interviewed including 25
patients, 31 carers, 3 traditional healers, 4 pastors, 1 mallam and 3 imams (see Table 2). Three interviews were in
English, the rest in Twi. Wherever possible we interviewed
the person with mental illness, however some were too
unwell to provide consent or to participate in the interview, in which case we interviewed the main carer, usually
the mother, father or sibling. In eight of the interviews the
carer and the person with mental illness were interviewed
Page 5 of 16
together. This was due to the fact that these patients could
not remember significant details of the time when they
were sick, or suffered from deficits in communication or
cognition which made it difficult to obtain a coherent
interview alone. To obtain contextual information relevant to mental health 7 focus group discussions were held
with a total of 47 participants including registered mental
nurses, young people, Muslims, cannabis users, church
members and parents (see Table 3). Five FGDs were conducted in Twi; two in English. Interviews were semi-structured. For those with mental illness and their family
members questions focused on the history of the person's
illness, the symptoms and course of the illness, possible
causes, the impact of the illness on the individual and the
family in terms of day-to-day life and social roles, sources
of treatment employed, and the experience of such treatment, including its perceived efficacy. For healers interview questions focused on the healers' view of mental
illness, including possible causes, the methods of treatment provided and the ideology/theology on which they
were based, the efficacy of the treatment and the reasons
for this, and views of other forms of treatment and possible collaboration or interaction.
Data analysis
Interviews and focus groups were digitally recorded with
the permission of the informants. Five assistants bi-lingual in Twi and English were recruited and trained. They
transcribed the interviews and focus groups into Twi and
then translated into English. All potentially identifying
details were removed in the transcripts. Analysis utilised a
grounded theory approach in which hypotheses were generated through close examination of the data [24]. Transcripts and fieldnotes were read and recurring themes and
differences noted. The multiple methods used allowed for
some triangulation of the data.
Ethics
Ethical approval for the study was granted by University
College London and Kintampo Health Research Centre
(KHRC). On introduction all participants in interviews
and focus groups were provided with a written information sheet and consent form which was translated into
Twi. As many participants were unable to read Twi the
forms were read to the participants and a verbal explanation of the research aims and methods provided. Questions were invited from participants. Participants were
asked to sign consent forms, or if illiterate to provide
thumb prints in the presence of a witness. Where possible
the researchers aimed to interview the person with mental
illness and the main carer. However if the person with
mental illness was considered too unwell to provide
informed consent, he or she was not interviewed.
It is not feasible nor appropriate to obtain written consent
from all persons who may be involved in observation, for
example a church congregation. The researcher sought the
permission of those in authority at proposed sites, such as
the pastor or traditional healer, before commencing
observation and participation, and ensured that all persons who were involved in periods of observation were
informed of the nature of the research.
Of particular concern in this study were occasions when
the researchers encountered people who were being
treated within the shrine and prayer camps and presented
with severe and distressing symptoms. Where it was
judged by the principal researcher (who has several years
experience as a clinician in mental health services in the
UK) that the person may benefit from psychiatric treatment, the researchers advised the person and their family
of the availability of medical treatment for such illnesses
and the potential benefits. Assistance was provided to
access health services if this was the wish of the family and
the patient. Where a person was considered to be at imminent risk of a serious deterioration in physical or mental
health due to the methods employed by healers the
researcher informed the local CPN and senior researchers
and medical staff at Kintampo Health Research Centre. In
some cases where people with mental illness were
chained, treatment with psychotropic drugs appeared to
improve the mental health of the patient sufficiently for
the family to release the person.
Results
The limits of family care
Almost all those with mental illness encountered in this
research had been chained, either at home, or within healing centres. The most common form of restraint was metal
Table 1: Sampling of cases

Table 2: Interview participants
Source
n=
n=
Epidemiological study of psychosis

Shrine
Prayer camp 1
Prayer camp 2
CPN
Word of mouth
10
9
3
6
4
6
People with mental illness

Carers
Pastors
Traditional healers
Imams/mallams
25
31
4
3
4
TOTAL
38
TOTAL
67
Page 6 of 16
Table 3: Focus group participants
n=
Church members
Muslims (men)
Muslims (women)
Young people
Cannabis smokers
Parents
Registered mental nurses
8
7
7
8
5
7
5
TOTAL
47
shackles which enclosed the ankles and were attached to a

tree or post (see figure 2). Occasionally people with mental illness were chained to logs.
Caring for a relative with mental illness placed enormous
financial and emotional strain on families, many of
whom were already living with limited resources. Carers
described struggling to manage agitated and aggressive
behaviour. Some reported that a son or daughter had
made threats of violence. One woman for example, had
been chained after threatening her grandmother with a
knife. Another man was chained to a log to prevent him
from preaching loudly during the night and attempting to
stop speeding traffic. In a few cases, some informants
reported being injured by their relative, such as one
mother whose daughter had thrown a piece of metal at
her which had cut her shin very deeply. For some informants, such behaviour led to the family chaining their relative in order to protect themselves.
Outside of the extended family and neighbours, there are
few avenues of support for those in Kintampo districts
attempting to care for a relative with mental illness. Agitated or aggressive behaviour often persuades the family
to seek help at shrines, churches or hospitals, since they
are no longer able to manage their relative at home. The
churches and shrines present the most obvious and accessible resources to assist in restraint and management,
compared to the long and expensive journey to the psychiatric hospitals on the coast, although almost all of
those interviewed had also sought psychiatric treatment
from the hospitals at some point during the course of the
illness. However, given the poor quality of care within the
psychiatric hospitals, the limited efficacy of psychotropic
medication for some informants, as well as unpleasant
side effects, many families saw little evidence of better
alternatives within biomedical treatment. This father of a
young man at the shrine, describes how he had tried both
biomedical and Christian treatment to no effect:
When the illness first occurred I took him to Ankaful [psychiatric hospital] for his brain to be examined, [...] They didn't
explain anything, and prescribed some medicine to give him.
They told us that when the medicine was finished we should go
to Sunyani. So when the medicine was finished, we went back
for more. Yet still, the illness was getting worse, so we went to
a prayer camp.
Interview with father of Kwasi, shrine, 18th June 2008
Spiritual perspectives on mental illness reinforce the popularity of the shrines and churches, since, unlike the hospitals, they address factors such as evil spirits, sorcery and
witchcraft, which are commonly seen to have caused mental illness.
With no ambulance service or medical staff available to
provide an escort, families faced a challenging task bringing disturbed and agitated relatives to places of treatment,
particularly if using public transport, for most the only
affordable means. One relative described how her brother
had to be restrained by seven men in order to bring him
to the shrine for treatment. This family paid the police
who used their handcuffs to restrain the man and bring
him to the shrine in a car.
Chaining of patients is generally conducted with the cooperation of the families who bring their relatives to healing centres. Indeed, several family members reported purchasing the shackles used to restrain their relative. At least
four families visited had also resorted to chaining their
mentally ill relative at home. Carers interviewed at the
shrine and churches were generally accepting of the need
to chain their relative if he or she was 'aggressive', 'roaming around', disruptive or using cannabis. Being 'disturbing' (gidigidi), and 'roaming' (kyinkyin), were common
reasons for the use of chains. The father of Kwasi viewed
the use of chains as important to control his son when he
became loud, hyper-talkative and disruptive, behaviour
which we had witnessed on our visits:
He was mostly chained to a tree. He was released whenever he
calmed down. That is how I saw it....When the sickness came,
he made a noise and they chained him to a tree.
Interview with father of Kwasi, shrine, 18th June 2008
Some parents also seemed haunted by a fear of their child
becoming vagrant, a common fate for those with mental
illness who often seemed compelled to wander far from
home. Akua was living in a prayer camp and had had a
severe mental illness for 10 years. She and her mother provide a typical description of this restlessness that could
lead to people with mental illness wandering into the
bush:
Page 7 of 16
monly associated with dangerousness. The mad are

unpredictable, irrational and potentially violent, as in this
young man's description of a woman who had lived in his
compound and become mentally ill:
...it comes and goes. But when it comes and she sees... she sees
you, she can just pick anything she see on the floor and throw
it on you, and throw it to hit you, maybe to wound you or to kill
you. She'll be sitting down, talking by heart, insulting people,
don't you see? Then laughing....doing all sorts of things.
FGD with young people, 30th April 2008 in English
Figurein2 use in a prayer camp

Chains
Chains in use in a prayer camp.
Akua: I will be standing there talking with someone, and if I go

out I could get lost. And if I get lost, I don't know where I am
going. If someone calls me...
Mother:If it comes likes that she can't stay at home, it makes
her go walking into the bush, it won't allow her to stay at home.
Interview with Akua and mother, prayer camp, 8th May
2008
Vagrants are a common sight in Kintampo town and at the
roadside, most of whom showed signs of mental illness.
For some the use of chains was a means of preventing this
fate for a son or daughter and of keeping him or her
within the family home. We were told moving stories of
family members who had searched for their son or daughter for months; one man had had to go as far as Niger in
search of his brother. During the course of fieldwork, one
of the cases we had interviewed disappeared from home.
Madness and the loss of social status
However, despite this desire to restrain and contain agitated, restless or potentially violent relatives, it was evident that chaining and other forms of harsh treatment
such as beatings, were also embedded within concepts of
mental illness which were influenced by spiritual and
moral understandings of the person and society. Descriptions of the typical 'madman' provided by informants
portrayed him as dirty, unkempt, anti-social, and beyond
the norms of human behaviour. Madness is also com-
Such behaviour directly contravenes social ideals of personhood, in which taking responsibility for others, such
as parenting children, is valued as the mark of adulthood
[25]. The Ghanaian philosopher, Kwasi Wiredu, claims
that for the Akan, 'a person in the true sense is not just any
human being, but one who has attained the status of a
responsible member of society', that is someone who 'is
able to achieve a reasonable livelihood for himself and
family while making non-trivial contributions to the wellbeing of appropriate members of his extended kinship circles and the wider community' [26]. All of those we met
suffering from chronic mental illness were falling well
outside this ideal since most were unable to work, and
almost all were unmarried and childless. Given this failure
to achieve these markers of adulthood and responsibility,
the status of the mentally ill was in some way analogous
to that of a child.
This loss of social status is captured by the concept of a
'spoiled' human being, which was used by some informants to describe those who had become mentally ill. Akua
told us:
'They say that now I'm spoilt. I'm not a human being anymore.'
Interview with Akua, prayer camp, 8th May 2008
The Twi se, translated here as 'spoilt' is a polysemic word,
used to describe moral corruption, bewitchment or bedevilment, rotten food, something gone bad or wasted. One
of the pastors for example, explained how the devil had
'spoiled' a man through alcohol. A 'spoiled' status, as in
Akua's statement, implies a loss of a person's essential
humanity and carries a moral charge. The implication is
that those with mental illness may be subject to forms of
harsh treatment which would not be permitted to other
categories of person.
Chains as part of treatment
The use of chains and shackles formed a routine part of
treatment in the shrine and churches visited. Every healer
visited during the research, whether a Christian pastor or
Page 8 of 16
a traditional healer, employed shackles on those with

mental illness. Patients were commonly chained when
they were first admitted to a shrine or prayer camp and
removed once the person became calmer, sometimes after
a few days, or a couple of weeks. In very agitated cases, or
where the person was thought to be likely to run away, the
chains were kept on for months. A common concern for
healers and carers was that young men who had been
smoking cannabis would run away to smoke if they were
not chained. Pastors and traditional healers in the area
argue with some validity that they are providing a vital
service for the management of those with mental disorders and many pleaded for greater recognition of their
contribution. Their struggles to manage agitated and
sometimes aggressive patients, as well as distressed and
despairing relatives, called for resources which few were
able to provide. None of the healers had any form of
accommodation of a standard suitable to forcibly detain
patients. Using shackles therefore enabled healers to
enforce treatment such as herbal medicine, 'fasting' and
praying. In the case of Christian pastors, the chains then
became part of fulfilling their divine mission. One pastor
argued that he could not afford to build accommodation
at his prayer camp, so had no alternative but to use chains
to carry out the work God had called him to:
As for me, it is something God has given me, so if I could take
whoever comes here I would be pleased, but the financial problem. And when the mad people come first it is difficult, so we
have to chain them to be able to pray for them for the evil spirit
to leave them, for them to have their peace. There is no money,
otherwise we wouldn't chain them, and I also don't have a room
to put them in.'
Interview with Prophet Agyei, owner of prayer camp, 23rd
June 2006
The two other pastors running prayer camps similarly
reported using chains to manage violent behaviour and
protect others in the public space:
harm somebody. We had it tough before we were able to chain

him.
Interview with Maame Grace, owner of prayer camp, 16th
October 2008
However, shackling is not always a response to violent or
uncontrolled behaviour. Madness was commonly seen by
informants as punishment for transgressions and moral
failings such as breaking of taboos, stealing and adultery.
Attributions for the mental illness of some in this study
included the use of sorcery and witchcraft, possession by
evil spirits, and adultery. Madness is also associated with
smoking cannabis which is strongly morally sanctioned,
representing a form of marginalised and anti-social
behaviour, particularly among young men. In line with
this moral perspective on mental illness, chaining and
beating were used for punishment and discipline as well
as restraint within the prayer camps and shrines. Informants described how people were beaten with sticks, belts
and strips of metal and rubber. At the shrine several
informants described how patients were beaten if they
refused to take the herbal medicine, or as punishment for
running away. Since the status of those with mental illness
was akin to an unsocialised child, beating mirrored common methods employed in the disciplining of children,
such as beatings with sticks, although often to a more brutal degree than would be generally acceptable.
Beatings were also part of treatment to rid the person of
evil spirits which were perceived by both pastors and traditional healers to lie behind much mental illness.
Informants in this study described being beaten to drive
away evil spirits such as mmoatia (small forest-dwelling
spirits which were reported to possess several informants,
causing madness), or to extract a confession of wrongdoing or witchcraft. A mother of a patient at the shrine
described how her daughter had been beaten so severely
at a prayer camp, that she had been left permanently
scarred:
So he comes and we get him to sit down, and we are going to

pray, and you are about to pray for him and he will want to hurt
you. Yes. So sometimes we put chains on their legs so that they
won't hurt anybody. Some they go too 'high', so you have to put
chains on their legs so the person becomes calm and you pray
for him.
There [at a prayer camp] they beat her severely with a belt,
today you can see her back, all over her back. They said she
should say she is a witch, but she is not a witch, and so they beat
her severely with a belt, she had wounds all over her back.
Interview with Pastor Owusu, owner of prayer camp 14th

May 2008
Extracting a confession was viewed by healers as important since if the person failed to confess their wrongdoing, they could not be healed.
At the time they brought him, it was very difficult. He was very
violent. When it happened like that, he got new strength. So we
had to put him in chains because if you leave him, he could
Interview with mother of Yaa, shrine, 25th July 2008
There are people maybe they did something evil, and the evil
they did brought the problem [madness]. There are people who
after prayers they have to confess before the healing will come.
Page 9 of 16
Interview with Prophet Agyei, 23rd June 2006

Healers argued that it was not people themselves who suffered from beatings, but the rather the bad spirits inside
them. Hence beating was morally framed as part of the
battle against the ultimate spiritual cause of mental illness.
In this view chaining and beating is seen as an essential
part of the healing process. By contrast, the removal of the
shackles serves a symbolic purpose for those who treat
mental illness since it is tangible and dramatic demonstration of the efficacy of healing in effecting the transformation of the person from madness to health; from asociality
to humanity. Two of the pastors interviewed had collected
photographs of men and women who had attended their
prayer camps where they were portrayed in a stereotypical
state of madness, in chains with matted or 'bushy' hair,
their semi-naked bodies partially covered by torn and
dirty clothes. Maame Grace displayed 'before and after'
shots side by side in an album, the 'after' photographs
showing the person neatly dressed in new clothes, their
hair cut or styled, released from chains. These photos echoed the story of the Gadarene madman healed by Jesus,
which was cited by the pastors as a Biblical precedent for
their work with the mentally ill. The photographs were
therefore displayed, not as a shameful record of abuse, but
as a visible demonstration of the efficacy of healing. This
was a view shared by some of the carers and even people
with mental illness, who saw the removal of chains as evidence of improvement.
Voices of dissent
However there were those in Kintampo who disagreed
with the harsh treatment given to people with mental illness by pastors and traditional healers. Some family
members interviewed were unhappy with the use of
chains on their relatives. Some had refused to use the
prayer camps or shrines for this reason or had taken their
relative away from such places. The mother of Alice, who
suffered from a long-standing mental illness, had previously sent her to a shrine where she had been chained. She
explicitly compared the treatment of her daughter to that
of an animal, and claimed her daughter's right by contrast
to be treated as a human being:
Ei! It is worrying. It is very sad. She is not a dog that anybody

can chain like that. If she gets up to go to the toilet you have to
remove the chain so she can go. So the person looking after her
feels very sad. It is something to make you sad.
Interview with mother of Alice, Kintampo, 23rd July 2008
Alice's mother's view is particularly striking when one
considered how she had been treated by her daughter
when she was unwell. Alice had frequently publicly
insulted her mother, which the researchers had witnessed.

This had progressed to a physical attack on her mother,
however she had refused to punish her:
When she threw the piece of metal, it hit me here [pointing to
shin]. It cut me down to the bone... [...] Her brother said he
would beat her, but I stopped him. This is because she wasn't in
her own mind. If she was in her own mind, she wouldn't hit me
with a piece of metal like that.
Interview with mother of Alice, Kintampo, 23rd July 2008
Importantly, in contrast to the viewpoint of people like
Prophet Agyei, Alice's mother framed her daughter's
behaviour as not being of her own volition, but rather 'out
of her mind': eny n'adwene, literally 'she did not have her
mind'. This phrase carries not only the connotation of losing control of one's own thoughts and behaviour, but of
not being one's true self.
It was striking how few of those who had been subject to
the use of chains or beating complained of their treatment
at the hands of the pastors and fetish priests. However
some of those who had been chained were clearly very distressed by their treatment and expressed resentment
towards the healer and the relative who had placed them
in chains. It was noticeable that the strongest criticism was
voiced by those who were most unwell. Their complaints
were dismissed by carers and healers as symptomatic of
the rebellious behaviour which was part of their madness
and their lack of insight into their mad condition. On one
visit to Maame Grace's prayer camp for example, a teacher
who was shackled begged me to release her and expressed
her anger towards 'that woman' the pastor, who she said
had called her a witch. Another, Moses, angrily contested
his treatment by his mother who had brought him to the
shrine, and told us about the beatings he had received and
the unpleasant sensations he experienced when taking
high doses of herbal medicine which induced a semi-conscious state, and caused diarrhoea. Another male patient
at the shrine complained of the degradation of sitting in
his own urine whilst in chains and threatened to report
the priest once he was released.
Once they were recovered many of those who had been
chained or otherwise harshly treated, conformed to the
general view that their treatment was justified on the
grounds of their madness. Most informants who had
recovered sufficiently to be interviewed expressed little
resentment towards the healer who had chained them,
viewing it as a necessary part of the process of healing and
perhaps unavoidable given their disturbed behaviour.
Some stated that the chains had 'helped' because it had
made them comply with the treatment or had acted as a
form of 'negative reinforcement':
Page 10 of 16
When I first came here, I was put in chains because they

thought I would run away. I was in chains for three days and
was given some herbal medicine to take. I don't consider this as
maltreatment but a way to treat me and see to it that I am well.
Interview with Kwabena, shrine, 18th October 2008
Notably some young men had chosen to stay and serve
the pastors who had formerly chained them, training as
pastors themselves and doing other work such as farming,
maintenance and running errands. In turn they too
assisted in the chaining of other patients with mental illness. For some informants the church and the shrine provided important social and material support and a refuge
from stigma in the home community. The pastors, for
example, provided subsistence such as food, clothing and
accommodation in return for farming on their land, offering one option for survival in a region where there are very
high rates of youth unemployment, particularly for young
men.
rural and urban areas, leading to financial burden, emotional strain and social stigma. This research also reported
how families had struggled to manage difficult and sometimes violent behaviour by people with mental illness
towards family members, such as beatings and setting
fires. Churches and mosques were reported to be important sources of material help [33]. In countries where
social structure and health care has been devastated by
war, government resources for the treatment and care of
those with mental illness are even more scarce. A recent
Channel 4 documentary shown in the UK, for example,
provided graphic coverage of the use of chains within
Sierra Leone's sole psychiatric hospital (staffed by the
country's only psychiatrist), and within the compounds of
traditional healers. In this film, both the psychiatrist and
healers defended the use of chains as necessary to prevent
their patients running away from treatment [34].
Enhancing mental health care

The challenges of providing mental health care in accordance with international human rights standards as shown
in Kintampo have been noted elsewhere in Africa. Alem
reports the use of ropes and shackles to restrain people
with mental disorders in homes and traditional healing
centres in Ethiopia. He remarks that in Ethiopia the provision of care in 'modern and traditional institutions' is not
in accordance with protection of human rights as defined
by 'western culture', however he argues that given the scarcity of resources for mental health care 'these procedures
have protected many patients from vagrancy, and from
the danger of deterioration which could arise from lack of
treatment.' [27]. In Nigeria, Eaton and Agomoh report
that traditional healers and "prayer houses" employ
herbal remedies, chaining, beating, cutting of the skin,
acid burning or starvation ("fasting") in the treatment of
the mentally ill and 'serve a purpose as a means of containment'. The scarcity and expense of psychiatric services
impedes their use by many. This is coupled with a lack of
knowledge and doubts about the effectiveness of medical
treatment for mental illness which is seen as caused by
'spiritual attack' [28].
The Global Movement for Mental Health has explicitly

linked the scaling up of mental health services with the
protection of the human rights of those with mental disorders, promoting the development of policies and legislation to both enhance the provision of mental health
care, and to protect human rights. The scarcity of accessible and high quality mental health care undoubtedly contributes to the continued popularity of traditional healers
and prayer camps, and to the high attrition from psychotropic treatment. However as this research shows, other
factors such as the belief in spiritual influences on mental
health and a scepticism towards the effectiveness of biomedicine for mental disorders also result in families seeking alternatives to psychiatric treatment. Psychiatric
hospitals are notorious within Ghana as elsewhere in subSaharan Africa for being over-crowded and under-funded.
Quality of care is compromised by the low numbers of
qualified staff, the paucity of on-going staff training, and
a lack of psychosocial treatment and rehabilitation [35].
There are reports of beatings and the use of medication as
punishment [36]. If psychiatric services are to be seen by
people with mental illness and their carers as a viable
alternative or adjunct to other forms of treatment, then
they must not only reach out to rural communities, but
also provide the highest standard of care which promotes
human rights and respects the viewpoint of the person
being treated.
As shown in this study, given the lack of state welfare provision in many African countries, responsibility for the
care of those with severe mental illness lies with the family, leading to a significant carer burden [29-33]. A study
in Nigeria showed that caregiver burden was higher where
the relative demonstrated psychotic symptoms and 'uncooperative behaviour' [32]. As in this research, a study in
Ghana of family responses to mental illness found that
the family provided the main source of support in both
Local struggles and human rights

In this research it was notable that in contrast to international outrage within scientific journals and the media of
Western states, the widespread use of shackles and other
forms of maltreatment towards those with mental illness
in Kintampo and the surrounding communities provoked
remarkably little protest within the communities studied.
Whilst there have been some criticisms of the harsh treatment of people with mental illness by traditional and
Discussion
Page 11 of 16
faith healers in national newspaper articles, reports

[13,37-39], and NGO campaigns in Ghana, these have
had little impact at the local level. The Commission on
Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has an
office in Kintampo only a short walk from one of the
churches where chains are routinely employed. CHRAJ is
a national government funded organisation whose mandate is to promote, protect and enforce fundamental
human rights and freedoms through providing mediation, advocacy and legal support. Yet there has been no
move to sanction the practice of chaining and other forms
of maltreatment employed either by individual families
or by healers. In August 2007 officials at the Kintampo
office of CHARJ reported that no one had petitioned them
regarding the human rights of people with mental illness,
hence they had not taken up the case. Local health practitioners were also aware of the practices of local healers
within their district.
From conversations and observation it appeared that families rather than the state were judged to be responsible for
the welfare of their relative if they chose to use such treatment. Yet, it is at the level of state intervention that solutions are most often proposed. In Ghana for example, the
attention of national leaders in psychiatry has focused on
legislation to outlaw practices such as chaining. A new
mental health law has been drafted which overtly adopts
a 'human rights based approach' reflecting current international guidelines as articulated by WHO [40], although
it has not yet been passed. This bill explicitly prohibits
abuse within healing facilities, including traditional healers and 'spiritual mental health facilities' [41]. However
the capacity of this act to effect imminent change in the
treatment of the mentally ill is cautioned by the fact that
within Kintampo districts existing legislation which
should in theory protect the rights of the mentally ill, is
routinely breached with impunity. The Mental Health
Decree (1972), which forms current mental health legislation, does not address the issue of restraint or maltreatment by relatives or healers, however it does provide for
the police to remove to 'a place of safety' any person suspected of suffering from mental illness who 'has been, or
is being, ill-treated, neglected or kept otherwise than
under proper control' [42]. The Constitution of Ghana
which aims to protect the rights of all citizens, states that
no person who is restricted or detained should be subjected to 'cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment' and 'any other condition that detracts or is likely
to detract from his dignity and worth as a human being.'
(Clause 15(2)) [43].
Leaving aside the question as to whether the chaining of
those with mental illness is perceived by those who
employ it as 'cruel, degrading, or inhuman', or whether it
is rather viewed as an unfortunate necessity, even as mun-
dane, the failure of existing legislation to impact on the

treatment of the mentally ill in rural communities such as
Kintampo, raises important questions about the viability
of further legislation to protect people with mental illness
from human rights abuses. National legislation may echo
the best of the international human rights discourse with
its language of freedom and rights, however many of
those whom it seeks to protect would struggle to understand it, if they were even aware of its existence. The weakness of much human rights legislation, as has been
cautioned of civic education campaigns in Malawi, is that
'the starting point is not the actual concerns and aspirations of the people, their particular situations in life and
experiences of abuse, but freedom, democracy, and
human rights as universal and abstract values.' [44]
Where, as in Ghana, there is little faith in the efficacy of
state apparatus, and law enforcement agencies are both
over-stretched and corrupt, protecting human rights often
falls to families and healers rather than the state. As
argued by Farmer and Gastineau, 'rights attributed on
paper are of little value when the existing political and
social structures do not afford all individuals the ability to
enjoy these rights, let alone defend them.' [10].
Morality and rights
A further caution concerns the focus on individual rights
within the human rights discourse employed by international agencies such as WHO. The approach to rights
enshrined within much human rights legislation is largely
founded on European concepts of the person as a selfdetermining individual. By contrast, the actions of family
members and healers observed in this study reflect a concern with the safety and moral integrity of the group,
rather than the individual rights of the person with mental
illness. This reflects Ghanaian ideals concerning the
sociality of human beings and relationships of reciprocity
and responsibility, and the sanctioning of overt individualism. Within Ghana, as Englund [45] describes for
Malawi, human rights may be viewed as grounded within
a moral rather than legal framework, one which draws on
'traditional' morality as articulated at the shrines, and
increasingly on Christian moral codes. Gyekye writes that
'Within the framework of Akan social and humanistic ethics, what is morally good is that which promotes social
welfare, solidarity, and harmony in human relationships'.
By contrast, moral evil (bone) is 'that which is considered
detrimental to the well-being of humanity and society'
[46]. In this view rights carry responsibilities, and are
earned, rather than innate. This moral approach which
emphasises both rights and responsibilities, suggests the
need to engage with all the players involved in the use of
methods such as chaining to find a way forward. It has
been argued that in contrast to the absolutist division
within human rights discourse between victims and violators, there is a need for 'less self-righteous modes of relat-
Page 12 of 16
ing that are also more attuned to moral complexity:

listening, compromise and the creation of new solidarities
and practices of co-existence based on recognition of an
imperfect shared humanness.' [47]. This approach may
open a way for dialogue which avoids alienating those
perceived within the human rights discourse as 'violators',
and recognizes their sometimes legitimate concerns, for
example for the safety of the community.
MHaPP in Kintampo to promote the human rights of people with mental illness in the district. Initiatives such as
these, which establish a dialogue with local actors, could
begin to address the factors which contribute to the continued use of chaining and other forms of abuse, and
work alongside families and healers to protect and promote the rights, dignity and health of those with mental
illness.
However it should be cautioned that such a moral perspective on rights and responsibilities may also be used to
justify the maltreatment of the mentally ill as this research
has suggested. The morally suspect status of the mentally
ill may be seen to threaten the cohesion and moral integrity of the group, thus they may be excluded from entitlement to the rights otherwise accorded to morally upright
and socialised human beings. Their rights are likely to be
subsumed to the needs of the group thereby sanctioning
the use of whatever means necessary to control behaviour
which threatens this cohesion. As this research shows, to
fail to address the issue of the chaining of the mentally ill
and other practices of restraint, is to ignore the significant
cost for those chained and beaten: socially, physically and
psychologically. Several patients had suffered lasting
physical damage as a result of being chained for long periods, such as muscle wasting and shortening. Many bore
scars on their ankles, evidence of the abrasion caused by
the shackles. Some were resentful of the treatment
received at the hands of their families, or of healers or pastors into whose care they had been entrusted by family
members. In some cases this can lead to a breakdown in
family relationships from which some families never
recover. The ultimate risk surrounding attempts at chaining and restraining those who are agitated or aggressive,
was tragically illustrated during the course of fieldwork. In
May 2008 a young police officer experienced a mental
breakdown whilst in a church in Kintampo, and began to
behave aggressively, smashing objects and shouting. As
yet the facts of the case have not been verified, however it
appears that in the course of attempts to restrain him by
church elders, the man's neck was broken and he died.
Limitations
This study suffers from a number of limitations most of
which are inherent in the anthropological approach with
its focus on 'ethnographies of the particular' [48] and the
use of key informants. Whilst it provides an indepth study
of factors surrounding responses to mental illness within
the communities under study, caution should be exercised in generalising these findings elsewhere since the
sample size is small and particular personal, historical,
social and cultural factors will vary. Ideally a greater
engagement between such qualitative anthropological
studies and quantitative research utilising standardised
instruments along the lines suggested by De Jong and Van
Ommeren for cross-cultural epidemiology [49] could provide a means of counterbalancing the limitations of both
methodologies within international mental health
research. Whilst the long period spent in the field may
have helped to minimise the effect of the researchers during participant observation and interviews to some
degree, the presence of both educated Ghanaian researchers and a white European researcher undoubtedly influenced the responses provided in both positive and
negative ways. For example, the informants may have
been able to say things to a 'stranger' that they could not
say to a member of the community, but equally they may
not have been willing to disclose other facts to 'strangers'.
The use of Twi as the lingua franca may have disadvantaged those for whom it was not their first language, and
the process of translation inevitably leads to some loss or
distortion of meaning. We attempted to minimise this
through transcription first into Twi and through explanation of the Twi words used where these were polysemic
and had no direct translation in English.
There are some signs in Kintampo of an uneasiness with

the practice of chaining, and a desire for other alternatives
on the part of those involved in treating the mentally ill.
A few families strongly resisted the use of chains on their
relatives and chose to forgo the treatment offered by spiritual healers where such methods were employed. A pastor whose church routinely chains the mentally ill to trees,
expressed the opinion that such treatment is 'not the best',
and stated his desire for funding so that better facilities for
the confinement of patients could be provided. Since
2008 representatives from CHRAJ, the District Health
Management Team, traditional and faith healers, carers
and people with mental illness are co-operating with the
Conclusion
There remains a gap between the global discourse on
health (one conducted largely in English, the language of
power), which is echoed within the corridors and conference rooms of ministries of health within Ghana and
other low-income countries, and the conversations and
decisions around health care which take place at community level. This research illustrates some of the challenges
faced by families in supporting relatives with mental illness, and the suffering endured by those who are subjected to chaining, beating and other forms of harsh
treatment within healing centres and family homes. As
Page 13 of 16
this study has shown, many families allow their relatives

to be chained in order to provide treatment which is perceived to be in their best interests, and to control and punish difficult behaviours. Counter-intuitively, the use of
chains can therefore represent an attempt to maintain the
care of severely mentally ill relatives in the absence of avenues of support and at great emotional, social and material cost. Such practices are also rooted within accepted
responses to mental illness within the study area, drawing
on historical, cultural and symbolic meanings, and thus
do not evoke the level of protest that might be expected
within a discourse of human rights. Indeed, the emphasis
on individual human rights employed by international
agencies may fail to engage with local concerns underlying practices of restraint, and the need to provide viable
alternatives which will support both those with mental illness and their families.
In arguing for a 'scaling up' of mental health care The Global Movement for Mental Health and WHO should be wary
of a 'one size fits all' approach that may fail to recognise
local resources and concepts of mental health and illness
which sometimes sit uneasily with biomedical
approaches to psychiatric treatment. As argued by Alem
for Ethiopia [27], mental health care predicated solely on
Western models is unlikely to be realistic in the context of
the limited resources available in low-income countries of
sub-Saharan Africa, nor may it be the best response to the
particular needs of rural communities. Research in Malawi
suggests that greater knowledge of biomedical models of
mental illness may not necessarily reduce carer burden
[50]. However providing an outreach service for people
with schizophrenia in rural India which provided psychosocial support and advice, alongside psychotropic medication, was shown to reduce symptoms, disability and
family burden [51]. In rural Nigeria other approaches to
facilitating access to mental health services and working
with families include involving family members in providing treatment and combating stigma [52], and the
training of village health workers [28]. Given the important role of families and informal healers in Ghana in providing care and managing the challenging behaviours
sometimes displayed by those with serious mental illness,
mental health services need to consider how best to
strengthen family resources and engage with local healers
to present realistic alternatives to chaining. There is also a
need to confront deep-rooted historical and cultural practices which inform responses to mental illness at the level
of families and the broader society. This is evidently more
difficult, since it involves the changing of attitudes. Legislation alone is unlikely to alter practices used for the
restraint of those with mental illness, unless it is coupled
with a commitment to funding mental health services.
These services must be flexible enough to reach out to
rural communities if they are to be accessible to families
with few material or financial resources to access treatment at more distant health care facilities. They must also
be creative enough to overcome the limitations of a strict
biomedical psychiatry and find ways of working with
local families and healers to improve the care of those
with mental illness and relieve something of the burden
felt by many carers.
Legislation to protect the human rights of people with
mental illness is undoubtedly a vital tool to regulate
abuses within both government and private treatment
facilities. However such legislation is likely to prove
harder to implement within small rural communities
which are distant from the reach of the state, and will be
beyond the means of many to exploit for their protection.
Ultimately engaging with local actors as they struggle to
live with mental illness and search for a cure, may promise
more in terms of changing responses to mental illness
than creating legal sanctions which are unlikely to provide
immediate benefits in the short term.
Appendix 1: Outline of methods

Case studies
Visits to case families at home and/or healing facility
Participant observation of everyday life e.g. work, family

interactions, social activities
Observation and conversation with people with mental
illness and family/friends
Semi-structured interviews with people with mental illness and family members
Healing resources for mental illness
Participant observation of healing rituals and practices at
shrines and prayer camps
Visits and observation at health facilities (psychiatric

hospitals, CPN clinics, general hospitals, rural clinics) and
conversation with health workers
Visits to mental health NGOs
Semi-structured interviews with healers, pastors and
people attending healing facilities
Concepts of and attitudes towards mental illness
Content analysis of media representations of mental illness e.g. newspaper articles, TV, films
Exploration of popular knowledge of mental illness as

revealed in proverbs, folk tales, symbolic representations
etc.
Page 14 of 16
Focus groups with nurses, church members, Muslims,

young people, parents etc.
16.
Competing interests
17.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
UMR conceived of the study, and developed its design.
She participated in all aspects of the research and prepared
the draft of the manuscript. SN completed the interviews
and focus group discussions, participated in fieldwork,
and helped develop the research questions. SN and EA
read the manuscript and provided additional comments.
All authors edited and approved the final manuscript.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the support of Kintampo Health Research Centre in conducting this study, in particular Dr Victor Doku, Dr Seth Owusu
Agyei, and the mental health research team. We also thank Ms Mary
Lamptey, CPN Kintampo. The study was funded by the Economic and Social
Research Council, UK in collaboration with Kintampo Health Research
Centre who provided logistical support.
22.
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Globalization and Health

Published: 14 October 2009

Received: 28 May 2009

This article is available from: http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/5/1/13

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

based mental health care, and the integration of mental

All these initiatives draw on the principles of human

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

as well as reproducing human rights rhetoric within their

tion and served to detain those with mental illness who

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

home to many migrant communities now settled in the

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

social functioning. The majority of those studied have

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

Table 1: Sampling of cases

Epidemiological study of psychosis

People with mental illness

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

Table 3: Focus group participants

shackles which enclosed the ankles and were attached to a

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

monly associated with dangerousness. The mad are

Figurein2 use in a prayer camp

Akua: I will be standing there talking with someone, and if I go

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

a traditional healer, employed shackles on those with

harm somebody. We had it tough before we were able to chain

So he comes and we get him to sit down, and we are going to

Interview with Pastor Owusu, owner of prayer camp 14th

Interview with mother of Yaa, shrine, 25th July 2008

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

Interview with Prophet Agyei, 23rd June 2006

Ei! It is worrying. It is very sad. She is not a dog that anybody

insulted her mother, which the researchers had witnessed.

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

When I first came here, I was put in chains because they

Enhancing mental health care

The Global Movement for Mental Health has explicitly

Local struggles and human rights

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

faith healers in national newspaper articles, reports

dane, the failure of existing legislation to impact on the

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

ing that are also more attuned to moral complexity:

There are some signs in Kintampo of an uneasiness with

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

this study has shown, many families allow their relatives

Appendix 1: Outline of methods

Participant observation of everyday life e.g. work, family

Visits and observation at health facilities (psychiatric

Exploration of popular knowledge of mental illness as

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

Focus groups with nurses, church members, Muslims,

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

WHO: Global Burden of Disease 2004 Update. Geneva: World

Globalization and Health 2009, 5:13

Publish with Bio Med Central and every

Your research papers will be:

Submit your manuscript here:

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